Go reFind Your Inner Teacher

Everyone knows that New Years to spring break hasn't been the smoothest stretch yet.
Snowdrifts, snowed-in, wacky weather (you're hot and you're cold), dangerous skating ice, various attitudes and rebellions and mutinies, last minute plan-changes, restlessness and SPRING FEVER, and a whole lot more.
There's been chaos and sadness and excitement and fun, good days and bad days and lazy days and happy days; a mad tumultuous lovely routine mess of it all.
And yet, every day has been the same. The same annoying musical alarm tone at 8 o'clock every morning throughout. The same daily mad rush to leave the house within half an hour. The same sleepy minute-long trudge to school, rain or shine. The same routine of 9am buzzer, rollcall, devotional time, exercise, math, exercise, spelling, English, lunch, story time, exercise, literature, geography, dismissal. The same fight for order and continuity and peace and kindness in class and out. The same struggle to be everywhere at once and see everything that happens. The same constant pressure to  be wise, to know the answers to every textbook and life and moral dilemma my students or I face. The conscious ambidexterity needed  to daily relate to students, coteachers, school board, and parents each in context of their own status.
Nah. Teaching schools no big deal. I do it like a boss every day. Actually like a principle. (Hahhhhhhh. Lamest joke ever. Doesn't even make sense. Sometimes laughing at things that don't make sense helps to clear a teacher's brain.)
But, as I mentioned above, it does have its obstacles.  And that is the reason there is SPRING BREAK. The school board reads the weariness on their teachers' faces and realizes that a week away from the class room would be a great break for everyone and (hopefully) reinstate Courage and Passion into the teacher and the class.
To you teachers with only a few days of spring break left; do things that rejuvenate you. If it's messaging another teacher to commiserate or sleeping til 11 that last blissful day of spring break or making an unnecessary day-trip just because you *can* leave in the middle of the day or spending a few extra minutes with your Bible/prayer time because there are no deadlines to meet. Whatever it is. Do it. And when you go back to school Monday, don't forget the things that make you a good teacher -your God, your dedication, your love, and whatever  all else are your personal supports when things get a little crazy. Cause we're counting down now (How many weeks til yearend? As much as my students enjoy school, I'm still pretty sure they'll have that number ready for me Monday morning...) and I'm sure things will get crazy. But it's a good kind of madness, the wildness of a group of excited children, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I think I will.

This post seems a little scattered; i didn't even take the time to proofread it and I wrote it around my hectic spring break schedule of sleeping in and swimming and shopping.
ThankYou, school board for giving us teachers this week to regroup. I am grateful for the chance to eat, sleep and breath something other than school. And really I'm ready to be back in school Monday and watch students all day before I go catch the sunset.

TSW
the SunsetWatcher

Connections

Does anyone else have friends and family they communicate with almost daily but don't see every single day? Isn't easy? And fun? And when you talk to them it's not difficult to imagine they are with you right now even if you know that they really aren't. Amiright?
I have a different Friend, someone I've never actually seen. For some reason though, He's the Most Important friend in my life. I talk to Him every day and though i don't know what His face looks like, I do know what His heart looks like.  The only problem is, it's rarely my iPhone that connects me to Him. Talking to him would be a little more exciting if I could pick up my device and send a quick message. The way I do talk to Him takes a little more commitment than a short message here and there. Yes, I do send him short messages -quick prayers throughout the day, not via mobile network tho and it's a little hard to pray a mindless prayer (like a mindless text message) because those kind of prayers aren't usually very genuine or effective. So the short middle-of-the-day prayers can be a bit of a problem but usually not too much, or not as much as those daily devotion-prayers. The kind where I sit down and read a long email, then type a 2 paged Microsoft document myself and sent in response and then sit waiting the other person to reply again . Except the first received email is usually in the form of my KJV Bible that sits on the table beside my bed whenever it's not in service. My email in response is a long prayer, full of news and questions and many requests and frequently a lot of praise. The second received email is often an emotion, feeling or thought, or something that either comforts me or answers one of my questions or requests. And this "email" ordeal, it's not something fast. It's not something you can do in 2.3 minutes. It's not something you can push or rush through. It's time-consuming and patience-building. But it's important; it's the conversation that gives me the stamina and vitality I need for my life.
(A challenge for this week: Put down your smartphone for a minute and talk to God.)

The Best Teacher

I've watched a lot of people make bad choices.  Regrettable stupid choices. Can't-you-see-what-trouble-you're-getting-into! choices. It's perfectly obvious to everyone looking where these choices are headed. Toward regret, of course.
I've always determined to learn from other people's mistakes. I don't want to end up looking as stupid as they did. I don't want to live with the consequences they're dealing with. I don't want to be categorized in the Stupid Choices Group along with them. Because of course I'm definitely not as stupid as they were.

Unfortunately I'm making a stupid mistake right there, by forgetting the well-known proverb about the most effective way of learning: Experience is the best teacher.

I guess I should've realized
 I couldn't avoid joining the Stupid Choices Group. Just look at me now. I'm making those same stupid  choices. Those same obvious mistakes. Those same can't-you-see-what-you're doing-to-yourself!? mistakes. Where did my idealisms, all those vital life-lessons-learned-by-watching-others disappear to the minute I needed them?

Experience is the best teacher. Observing isn't the best teacher; Hearing isn't the best teacher. Hands-on Experience is the best teacher. And right now, in the midst of intense Experience, I'm regretting my earlier judgements of others. And I'm learning from Experience, the best teacher

Words of 2016

I did this same thing last year, created a row of words that summed up the way the year 2015 had been for me. Unfortunately, those words died along with my last phone (unless one of my readers has them yet) so I can't compare them to 2016's words. I do hope though, that they aren't identical and that my 2016 words indicate that I have changed and grown.

If I chose one phrase to describe the last year, it would be this part of a Bible verse that has become my stability:
                                                ,,,,,,,,,,,,BeOfGoodCourage,,,,,,,,,,,

That said, there are plenty of words I could use to describe myself and my life and the things that happened to me and the way I reacted to the things that happened to me in the last year. Here are few:


Stronger,,,,Braver
Failure
Relinquishing myself
Change
Tears and Smiles
Lonesomeness
Aloneness
Flying and falling (figuratively)
Joy
Fear, inhibiting fear
But also Love, casting out the fear
Learning
Blind Trust
Acknowledge My Treasures
NewWays
NewPlace
NewLife
Ndazolowera. I have grown accustomed. To strangers and strangeness and change and leaving and to adapting. It's hard still, but it's my life so I will zolowera.

If anyone reading this would like to share with me their Words of 2016, I think most of you know how to contact me; I would enjoy reading them, should you decide to share.

Of course, the step after bidding  The Old Year farewell with a bunch of reminiscing, is to welcome The New Year by creating a few goals and plans for the next 12 months. New Years Resolutions anyone? I'd also enjoy hearing about those. I myself am not much of a New Years resolution person, But the following is one resolution that I will make, and will keep:

,,,,,,My motto for 2017, I'll live for a living God,,,,,,

{TheSunsetWatcher}

Power

To me, power is often a misrepresented word. It's often used in reference social status and high-ranking positions and political leaders and fast vehicles. Indeed there is a bit of truth to that -each of these things does hold its own kind of power. But that power doesn't begin to compare to the Power I witnessed Christmas morning. Would you like to hear about it?

It's Christmas morning and I'm sitting on a hard bench in HomeChurch waiting for the service to begin, completely content to bask in this place's comfortable familiarity.

Then the music begins, a strong, moving hymn sung by the whole group of 200 or more worshippers. Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem, shine on. If you've ever heard a Christmas hymn sung from the hearts of 200 people, you've witnessed Power. It's more than the beautiful  Harmonies, although that's powerful enough. It's more than the complete synchronization of 200 different voices, although that's powerful too. It's not even the Christmas words, although Christmas words are also extremely powerful.

The power doesn't come from 200 people's voices, but from their hearts. The music isn't just well sung; it's a beautiful tune made more beautiful by God's presence, until it's almost reminiscent of the angels' song on The First Christmas. 200 people singing together is impressive but this morning it's more than impressive because each of these 200 people is feeling the same joy, celebrating the birth of their Saviour. The words of the song were well written, by someone who must have felt a personal connection to Jesus's birth. Now imagine 200 people who feel a personal connection to Jesus's birth all singing those lyrics in unison.

This is Power. The intense inhuman feeling of peace and extreme joy and calm contentment and strong resolve -the combination of feelings so real and strong that they can only come from the Reason for Christmas, Jesus.

((What is your definition of power?))

Stopping My Ears

‭‭
“Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21:13‬ ‭

After I highlighted this verse in my Bible (app) the other day, a friend commented, "Ouch. That says it pretty plain." It certainly does. In fact, it made me wonder how many cries I'm ignoring this Christmas. How many people around me are silently begging for help and I'm not paying attention? There probably will not be any beggars to ignore on my elitist doorstep or in the expensive coffee shops and restaurants my Christmas parties revolve around. I probably have already religiously dropped my change into the Salvation Army's purses and stuffed a generous Christmas offering into the collection plate at my church last Sunday. I may have even set one evening aside to do a good deed -sing Christmas carols to neighbors or spend the supper hour at a soup kitchen. I have done well, I'm sure. But what have I missed?
Which of my acquaintances will spend a solitary Christmas Day? Maybe I ignored the loneliness in her eyes as she told me of her plans for Christmas.
Is one of my friends  living a sad holiday because it's her first Christmas since her dad died? Did I brush off her comment about "missing dad this Christmas" because I couldn't think of a sympathetic unawkward reply?
Do do i know someone who is living far away from his family and can't come home for Christmas? Remember that unanswered message he sent me wondering how I was spending Christmas?

Am  I stopping my ears to the cries of the poor?

My Name is Peter

I am cowering tonight, feeling guilty. I've just learned how vulnerable I am.
I purposed that No, of course I wouldn't deny my Jesus. Of course I'll always stand up for Him and for my Faith. But If i would've paid attention, Jesus was probably quietly saying that "before the night is over, you will deny me."  Luke 22.34
I was having a fun evening. And that's good.  Most of the people I was with are people who follow my Jesus too. But even with those people, it's sometimes not cool to admit it. And when someone told me, "you are one of Jesus's disciples," Luke 22.56 though in modern speech it sounded more like "you're so pious," l instantly retaliated with a suspiciously vehement "of course I'm not! I do a lot worse things than you do!"  sort of answer Luke 22.57. And minutes later as the clock on my phone silently struck 1am Luke 22.60, I felt Jesus's eyes on me and wondered why I had denied Him. Luke 22.61
I disappointed my strong personal convictions.  I went against the things I believe and stand for. I adopted the prevalent attitude of indifference. I allowed other people's opinions of me to define me and tailored my words and actions to fit what I knew my companions would approve of.
But exactly what i did doesn't  matter much to me. It's the fact that what I did was denying my Jesus.
And like Peter, my heart is crying bitterly. Luke 22.62

*in case you are unfamiliar with the
story of a man named Peter denying
his God 3 times in the space of one
night, refer to Luke 22 in the Bible